You can complete this mission and kill almost no White Mantle. Simply keep hugging the left wall. With a compact group and correct timing (waiting where necessary), the White Mantle will not see you. At each tower, hug the left and you should be past (and through the gate where appropriate) before the White Mantle spread out and block the path. Since the White Mantle are in large groups, this can be a much easier way through the mission. The red path shown on the map is the shortest, but there are many others.

After collecting the scepter at point A on the map, pass through the gate and again keep hugging the left wall. Eventually, you get to a pair of towers that are teeming with White Mantle. Look carefully and you will see a boss and a narrow bridge between the towers (B on the map). Pass quickly through the White Mantle, kill the boss, and pass along the bridge to complete the mission.

Tip: If you are rushing between those two towers to the boss, make sure the boss is not blocking the path through to the bridge. If he is, fall back (pulling him from where he is) and rush again.

You can receive the bonus objective by talking to Saidra (2 on the map) after killing the first White Mantle Seeker in a tower (1 on the map). There are nine watchtowers that each have a Watchtower Guard and a seeker. Killing all nine of the seekers grants you the bonus; you do not need to kill the watchtower guards (although the text suggests otherwise). The mission text is also unclear: you will get credit for the mission even if you clear the map of White Mantle before speaking with Dinas.

In addition to the pair of enemies at the top, each Watchtower is guarded by another pair that stand at its base; another dozen or so wander around the tower in several groups. As you approach each tower, the guard will call the surrounding troops, and all the nearby White Mantle will come rushing to the base of the tower, allowing you to pull a couple towards your waiting party. If you pull more enemy than you intend to, you should be able to run away because the maximum distance that mobs will chase is not very far. Consider avoiding the use of minions and pets, as they can be overzealous about chasing mobs and end up attracting more than you want.

The mobs up in the tower can be hard to hit and the guards below do not like to wander far from the base. So, tackle the patrols first, then the base guards, and finally those in the tower. The Guards can be a pain to kill, as they have Troll Unguent, but the Seekers are much easier pickings, as they cannot heal. If the two White Mantle up in a tower are above the door, melee characters can attack them by standing at the door and attacking. If the soldiers move up the tower, they will become out of reach of melee characters; indirect area of effect spells will take them out very quickly if that happens.

The tower near Saidra opens only after you speak with her. She will just stand there and not help either side, if you pull some of the White Mantle from this tower to her vicinity. The fourth tower has a boss and an extra helping of White Mantle. The sixth is often easier to clear if you pull and clear most of the mobs from the north, but then loop back around to actually assault the tower from the west.

If you wish to do both the mission and the bonus, do the bonus before picking up the Scepter of Orr.

Make sure to disable skills such as Consume Corpse on your heroes because it is possible for them to get stuck on top of guard towers.

Hard mode in this mission actually plays out very similarly to normal mode. Even running away when you pull too many isn't much of a problem, as in spite of the hard mode speed boost that mobs get, they still won't run very far from their tower.

Due to both the ease of running away to escape a bad pull and the probable necessity of doing so a few times, it can help for the party to coordinate exactly when to run away if grouping with other players, so that the entire party all makes the same decision. For example, it can work to set a standard rule of, if more than four mobs come, everyone runs away.

White Mantle: I heard Confessor Dorian himself is coming to inspect the temple.

White Mantle: That's just a rumor. Why would Dorian come here?

White Mantle: I don't know. Maybe he wants to see the Scepter of Orr.

White Mantle: You idiot. He's already seen it.

White Mantle: Do you think these undead are here because of the Scepter?

White Mantle: What else could it be?

White Mantle: I don't know. Maybe they're just hungry.

White Mantle: Oh, that's a good one. The hungry undead. What a moron.

White Mantle: Okay, listen up. There is talk of raiders on the prowl near the temple. If you encounter intruders, they are to be terminated on sight.

White Mantle: The Unseen Ones have been awfully quiet lately.

White Mantle: When have they ever been noisy?

White Mantle: You know what I mean.

White Mantle: Yeah, I suppose you're right. I wonder what's going on.

White Mantle: Last night I saw a bone dragon.

White Mantle: Really? A bone dragon? Where?

White Mantle: Down in the swamp. A couple of ghouls were leading it around on a leash.

White Mantle: Dang.

White Mantle: The prophecies of the Unseen Ones talk about the coming of the undead.

White Mantle: Do you really believe that stuff?

White Mantle: Yeah man, and so should you!

White Mantle: All right. All right. Don't blow your top.

Bonus objective:

Saidra: My friends. It is me, Saidra, in disguise. On the other side of this gate there is a cart of weapons waiting to be smuggled to the Blade. But I can't get them past the watchtowers without being searched. If you take out all the towers between here and the docks, I'll be able to sneak through.

Dinas: My friends, it is good to see you again. I didn't think when we met off the D'Alessio Seaboard that I would be giving you the Scepter of Orr. Come, you must not linger here. The Zealots will be back soon. I will show you the quickest escape route. To the east is a bridge that will take you over the Ullen River to safety. Stay off the beaten path, and whatever you do, avoid the watchtowers! Many men have died for this. Guard it with your life.

White Mantle Justiciar: They won't get far. There are two watchtowers between here and the river. If they try to go past, they will be caught. If they stop to ponder a way around, we will catch them. No one who steals from the White Mantle lives long enough to enjoy the spoils.

Evennia: Ah, the Scepter of Orr. The time for retribution against our oppressors has finally arrived.

<party leader>: I thought the point of stealing the Scepter was to keep it from the Mantle. How are we going to use it?

Evennia: We can't, but Vizier Khilbron can. I negotiated a treaty with the former advisor to the King of Orr. In exchange for the Scepter, the good vizier has agreed to aid us in our fight against the Mantle.

<party leader>: Vizier Khilbron? What can one man do for us that we can't do for ourselves?

Evennia: The Vizier is a very powerful mage. He can show us the path that will lead to our victory. Come now. The sun will be rising soon, and we must prepare for our journey to meet the vizier.

Cartographers should drop the Scepter before crossing the bridge at map point B, to reveal an area east of the bridges.

A character holding the scepter can cross the bridge by walking towards the boss and hugging the left side, making it easier to run the mission.

The bonus is one of the most time consuming of any mission; be sure players have time to complete it before starting.

Bug! After the first cutscene, a group of White Mantle will spawn nearby. They will not attack nor fight back, even if engaged in melee.

Bug! Characters can, in rare situations, become stuck on top of a tower such that the /stuckemote does not resolve the issue. To free a character, (a) talk to Dinas (which activates a cutscene, moving all party members) or (b) use a teleportation skill (e.g. Consume Corpse or a Shadow Step).

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